The 27th annual Dragon Boat Festival takes over False Creek this weekend
Posted June 20, 2015 8:11 am.
Last Updated June 20, 2015 1:51 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A hundred thousand people will be hitting False Creek this weekend for the annual Dragon Boat Festival.
Along with the tens of thousands of people watching from the shore, there are 188 teams hitting the water around Science World and Olympic Village.
Anita Webster with the festival explains they’ve been the most popular dragon boat event outside of Hong Kong for the last 27 years. “There was a dragon boat magazine recently, a paddling magazine that rated us the top category in several areas for organization for beauty of the site for the level of competition. It’s just really the supreme dragon boat competitive race
While most of the racers come from the Lower Mainland, the event also attracts teams from the Pacific Northwest Coast explains Webster. “From Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, LA. This year we are happy to say two teams from Australia coming to join us.
She says the weekend brings in about 2.4-million-dollars to the local economy thanks to hotel stays and restaurant visits.
Organizers add they are close to building a permanent boat house along False Creek after a sizable donation from a local developer.